PITTSBURGH –– A Pennsylvania state court has denied an aromatic hydrocarbon defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, rejecting the defendant’s contention that it could not be held liable as a successor corporation.

In the May 14 order, the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County found that it was unable to determine, at this time, whether the defendant is a successor-in-interest to the original manufacturer of the product at issue in the case.

Further, the court found, it could not determine whether the defendant was exempt from liability in spite of the “product-line” exception to the rule that ...